


Braids

by Comedia



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen, Implied Raleigh Becket/Mako Mori, Sasha and Mako friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comedia/pseuds/Comedia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the test-run Mako is pretty much determined to stay in her room, and Sasha is determined to get her out of there. The braiding of hair happens. Also Raleigh and chocolate milk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Braids

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for [Eonycteris](http://eonycteris.tumblr.com/)! Your prompts were both wonderful, so I figured I'd just combine them. Hope you like it, happy holidays! <3

The knocking has been persistent for almost a minute when Mako finally gives in and opens the door. She's not sure what she expected, but it's definitely a pleasant surprise to find Sasha waiting impatiently in the hallway.

Once the door is open Sasha doesn't say anything, she simply marches inside and sits down on the bed. She doesn't pay the room much attention, but instead watches Mako with an even gaze. With a nod Sasha indicates for her to sit down on the floor in front of her, and Mako can't bring herself to refuse.

The concrete floor is cold, but she pays no mind as she crosses her legs and leans back, resting her head against Sasha's thigh, watching as she removes her rings one by one, carefully putting them in her pocket. 

"You were impressive today." It doesn't sound like an attempt to cheer her up; Sasha mostly speaks as if she's giving orders, and right now her words seems simply like an observation, and not like something that could actually be disputed.

Mako can't help but snort, because she screwed up big-time – they both know that.

"Don't doubt yourself." Sasha slaps the back of her head lightly, almost – but not quite – like a joke. "You'll make good pilot."

She really wants to argue, but knows that there's no point; Sasha doesn't bother to speak unless she thinks she's right. There's something quite calming about that, knowing that someone as experienced as Sasha still believes in her, despite what happened.

She closes her eyes and focuses on breathing as Sasha runs her fingers through her hair, starting to braid it with familiar ease.

This has kind of become their thing, a moment of calm as the world turns to chaos around them. Sasha may claim that she only learned how to braid her hair out of practical reasons, but there's so much more than duty in her movements. 

Opening her eyes slightly, Mako watches Sasha's expression as she delicately ties ribbons at the end of each braid, and it's so obvious that she takes pride in her work. It's not that she smiles per say, but there's softness to her air. Once she's done she quickly puts her rings back on, and gestures for Mako to get up.

"Come now. Aleksis is waiting."

And Mako wasn't planning to leave her room at all, but she finds herself following Sasha through the corridors anyway, curious enough to momentarily forget about her worries.

They end up in the mess hall, the place having turned into somewhat of a bar this late at night. There's a loud buzz of people talking and laughing, friends with different assignments meeting up once their shifts have ended. Normally she would spend some time greeting the people that she recognizes, but this time she stays close to Sasha and aims to slip by unnoticed – not feeling ready to speak of what happened during the test-run.

It's surprisingly hard to spot Aleksis in the crowd, as he's sitting in a corner with his back turned to them, mostly concealed in the shadows. It's only when they're getting closer that Mako realizes that he's not alone.

"Don't tell me you've tried to intimidate him." She's quick to nudge Sasha with an elbow, and only gets a raised eyebrow in response. 

"Why would we do that? Mr. Becket is well-known pilot. He makes interesting conversation."

Mako narrows her eyes, but doesn't ask any more questions. They reach the table soon enough, and Raleigh seems to be all smiles and sunshine as always. She sits down next to him, greeting Aleksis and watching Sasha closely as she's trying to figure out what this is all about.

For a moment there's nothing but silence. Mako has come to realize that this is kind of a thing with the Kaidanovsky's. Whenever there's something important to talk about they have a tendency to fall silent, and it might have something to do with how long they've been piloting, but Mako suspects that it’s more likely that they’re just a taciturn couple.

Raleigh taps her shoulder, a warm smile as he nods towards the bottles on the table. "We've had a couple of beers. Do you want anything?"

She shrugs, not really thirsty, but still feeling like it'd be nice to have something to keep her occupied in case she doesn't feel like talking. "Sure."

He's barely left the table when Aleksis rumbles something barely audible in Russian, and Sasha bursts out laughing. Mako doesn't even have to ask what they've found so amusing, as Sasha leans across the table with a smirk.

"Aleksis thinks that Raleigh’s like a dog." And then – probably noticing Mako's death-glare – she looks thoughtful for a moment. "Not in a bad way. He's like a puppy."

Mako actually laughs a little at that, because on one hand she wants to point out that Raleigh is so much more, he's polite and skilled and complex and whatnot... but on the other hand she can't help but agree.

They spend a few moments in silence, and for the first time in hours she feels thoroughly calm. Everything is so uncertain at the moment, and there's no room for errors. Logically, there's no room for unstable people like her. She's been reminding herself that this is the case. That it wouldn't be unthinkable for Stacker to never allow her close to a Jaeger again.

Considering what happened she expected to lose the respect of most people in the Shatterdome, and yet, there are many that believe in her still. Life goes on, and few have put much blame on her; being in the company of her friends she's starting to feel like it wouldn't be wrong for her to still believe in herself.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Sasha reaches across the table and taps her arm. "Don't feel too much pressure. We've all had bad runs."

Aleksis nods at that, attempting to smile and looking quite scary in the process. "You have good connection. You'll be good pilot."

And she doesn't have the time to respond when Raleigh returns, handing her a box of chocolate milk and sitting down close enough for their knees to touch.

"You like that one, right?"

She nods, and can't help but wonder when he managed to notice that; she never imagined exchanging favorite drinks would be part of the Drift.

"So what's up with the hair?"

Raleigh gestures between her and Sasha, clearly fascinated by the matching braids. It's a clear sign he's new to this place, and Mako sips her milk as she listens to Sasha's rant about conn-pod helms and practical hairstyles.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she's still concerned, but just like how she'll get lost in her work from time to time, she allows herself to get lost in the moment. For now there's friendship, the warmth of Raleigh next to her and Sasha unapologetically smashing the table with her hand as she's laughing loud enough for the entire mess hall to hear.

It's a moment of peace, of a sweet taste of chocolate on her tongue and the slight pull of braids in her hair… and Mako can't wait to get back in the Drift.

She's ready.


End file.
